


Let's Go Home

by WhiteDalvaria



Series: You’re Not Alone [3]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Prequel, RT Baby AU, Stray Heart, not really - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-04
Updated: 2019-06-04
Packaged: 2020-04-07 13:32:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19086052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhiteDalvaria/pseuds/WhiteDalvaria
Summary: How Ryan met Griffon.A companion piece to Stray Heart. Takes place two years before the story begins.Please read Stray Heart before you read this!





	Let's Go Home

It was raining, and Ryan could feel the cold droplets soaking through his clothes, chilling him down to the bone. The heavy rainfall blinded him; he could barely see two feet in front of himself. He needed to find somewhere to wait the storm out. Needed to find somewhere to hide.

The city of Austin wasn’t the best place to be homeless; stores tended to turn people away and labeled them a thief (even though Ryan had never stolen anything in his life), and police would drive them out of parks and hiding spots, telling them to find a homeless shelter and do something with their lives.

But Ryan knew that it wasn’t that simple.

The splashes from the hydroplaning cars beside him did nothing to help with his condition. He felt as if he was navigating a dark tunnel – he couldn’t see any relief in his immediate future. He wondered if this was going to be how he’d die.

And then, suddenly, he saw the light at the end of the tunnel.

Ryan had walked past the house several times before but hadn’t really thought much about it. It was abandoned – deemed unsafe for humans to occupy – but to Ryan, it had come upon him like a blessing.

He took a quick look around to make sure no one was around; there were people on the other side of the road, hiding under various objects to keep dry, but didn’t see anyone important. He climbed up the steps to the door and jiggled the doorknob. Locked.

Ryan felt like crying; he was so close. But he was desperate. He backed up a few inches – grateful that the rotting porch was wood and not stone – and ran full-force into the door. When he heard a crack, he lit up. Victory was in his sight! He backed up again, intending to repeat the action when he heard a car pull up behind him.

“Hey, kid! Get away from there!”

_Cops._ Ryan felt his blood turn to ice. If the cops caught him and found out he was homeless… But he couldn’t will himself to move.

The blue-clad officer exited his patrol car and walked to the base of the steps. “Did you hear me? I said get away from there or I’ll have to take you in and call your parents.”

The ‘call your parents’ line was what got him moving. Though his victory had been snatched from him, he couldn’t risk being taken away. He _wouldn’t_ be put in the system. He’d _rather be dead_. He glanced at the officer before jumping over the side of the porch, booking it down the sidewalk.

Ryan heard yelling behind him; he assumed the cop was trying to get him to come back. But he couldn’t stop running, not until he was sure he was out of sight. The cops wouldn’t waste too much time on him – he was just another piece of homeless trash, after all.

After what felt like ages, he came to a stop at the edge of downtown and sat on the ground, catching his breath. It seemed that he lost the police, or they just didn’t care that much. Either way, he decided it was a victory, so he cheered internally. At least he’d escaped.

“What’s a kid like you doing out here on a day like this?”

Ryan jumped out of his skin at the strange voice, and he turned around. Behind him was a blonde girl – not much older than him, by the looks of her, but taller and lither. She held a black umbrella over her head. “Just, you know, out for a walk?” His tone hadn’t done a great job of convincing _himself_ that his words were the truth. _Great job, dumbass._

“Uh huh.” The female shook her head. “A kid, out in the rain, without an umbrella or even a real jacket. Where are your parents?”

He shrugged. “I dunno.”

At his answer, her face softened. “What do you mean, you don’t know? Where do you live?”

“I mean just that; I. Don’t. Know.” He turned away from her. “I don’t have a home anymore.” When Ryan didn’t hear anything else, he assumed she had just walked off and left him but was surprised when the rain stopped falling on him. He turned his head again and realized that the girl had sat down next to him, holding the umbrella over them both. “What are you doing?”

“Letting you catch a break, stupid.” She offered him a small, sympathetic smile. “It looks like you need one.”

Ryan felt tears well up in his eyes. “But why? You don’t even know me.”

“What’s your name?”

“Ryan.”

She giggled. “Well, Ryan, I’m Griffon. Now we know each other.”

Ryan was shocked. What did Griffon see in him that she felt the need to help him out? “I guess.”

After a few moments of silence, Griffon stood up, offering him her hand. “Come on, Ryan.”

“What?” He looked at her quizzically. “Where are we going?”

“My place. My folks are out until tomorrow night; you can wait out the storm there.”

The blond shook his head. “You don’t have to do that.”

Griffon ‘tsk’d at him. “Of course, I don’t _have_ to. But I want to. Friends help each other out, right?”

Ryan lit up at the comment and smiled, taking her hand and letting her help him up. “Yeah, of course.” A moment of silence was then followed by “Thank you, Griffon.”

“You’re welcome, Ryan.”


End file.
